Indigo Blackrose
by IndieBlack
Summary: A decade has passed since the triumph of Clary Fray over Sebastian Morgenstern. A new era has risen. The Nephilim are prosperous and growing in number. 17 year old Indigo Blackrose is an orphan living in the London Institute. Top of her class and the most promising shadowhunter in years, she is unsettled when a transfer student threatens to take her place. And her heart.
1. Blackrose

Indigo Blackrose did not like change. She protested when she was moved from Los Angeles to New York and yet again when she was moved from New York to London.

She adapted quickly to new surroundings yet seldom bothered to make the best of her situation.

That was why, she supposed, she found it so hard to make friends. And it was also why, she later mused, she was so against newcomers despite the fact that the London institute was the busiest in the world.

Being an orphan did not help. Like many of the other young shadowhunters at the institute, Indigo's parents had died when she was young, battling demons as their holy writ mandate required. But it did make her feel somehow separate from those who still had families intact.

Almost a decade had passed since the legendary battle of Clary Fray and Jace Lightwood against Valentine Morgenstern and his son, Sebastian.

Shadowhunter population grew and blossomed steadily, slightly attributing to the fact that interspecial marriage between shadowhunters and mundanes was now a social norm. Where there had once been a handful of students at the famed London institute, there were now forty. A sizeable enough class of young warriors, yet far too few for Indigo to find a friend.

And now, nearing her 18th birthday, almost too late to find a parabatai.

Out of everything, Indigo probably regretted this the most. She knew this was caused in part by the fact that she had moved around institutes so much in her youth. Indigo, unlike her classmates who had known each other since birth, had not had a chance to root herself and be supported by friends that she had known since birth. People she could trust.

Plus, her unusual physical appearance did little to soften the still present, however vague, contempt English shadowhunters showed for foreigners. Her father had been a shadowhunter based in New York, a flaming redhead with a penchant for the forbidden and had been completely besotted by a wealthy Korean girl living in upstate Los Angeles while on an ambassador's journey. Charlie Blackrose's pasty lankiness combined with Song Lee's olive skin and dark complexion had resulted in a wiry, pale-faced girl with brilliant auburn hale, slanted blue eyes, and high cheekbones. Her striking appearance had made her self conscious growing up.

Her mother had ascended, traditioning remarkably easily, into the fast and dangerous life of the wife of a shadowhunter. Her daughter, who showed early signs of physical ability, seemed to be born into the right life, growing up alongside the other shadowhunter children in Los Angeles. Until her father had made the decision to move back to New York. Until both her parents had perished mid-assignment and she was transferred across an ocean to another country.

She had been 15.

She had been forced to mature quickly then, from a petulant and spoiled child used to attention to a woman who felt utterly and completely alone.

She did not lose herself in grief, but instead, plunged herself into her studies, learning her lessons by heart at an alarming pace and astounding her mentors in the classroom, much to the annoyance of her classmates. This too, she later realized, contributed to the reason she had no close friends. She had built herself as an outcast from the beginning.

In the training room, her natural flexibility and nimbleness proved useful for superior muscle memory. She learned the fastest, and was soon disarming everyone she sparred against. The boys, in particular, did not look kindly at the 5' 4" spitfire that left them leaving the training room aching from head to toe.

So she did not feel at all pleased when 17 year old Levi Chaudhury, a newcomer, a nobody, singlehandedly beat her on every exam, bested her nearly every sparring practice, and eventually rose to a place where she swore no one would ever reach.

Above her.


	2. The First Meeting

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It had been a good day. Being a Monday, Indigo felt the familiar dull throb in her temple of a hard day's worth of studying after a restful weekend and she was looking forward to practice in the training room to let off some steam.

With a happy sort of sigh, she sat in a corner of the mostly empty room at the top of the institute and began to stretch her taut muscles, lazily rolling her head from side to side with her eyes half-closed when an unfamiliar figure dropped down to face her.

Indigo immediately tensed and her eyes snapped open, alert and wary.

"Hi." She said uncertainly. She had never seen this particular shadowhunter before in the Institute and didn't understand the sudden interaction with this stranger. Were they related?

It had happened before, she mused. Indigo did have several cousins in the New York Institute whom she had known briefly before her parents had died and she had moved.

But this boy? No he couldn't be. Firstly because he looked of middle-eastern descent. Pakistani most likely with caramel colored skin and jet black eyes, he was pleasing to look at and Indigo didn't bother to hide it.

He cracked a smile then, a contagious one, and held out his right hand which Indigo promptly took and shook firmly. He continued to squat in front of her, leaning back on his haunches with his elbows on his knees and Indigo was suddenly conscious of the fact that her legs were splayed open in a perfect middle split as she had been caught in the middle of her stretching and blushed slightly with this realization.

"I'm Levi," he said in a lilting English accent. There was a slight accent, but Indigo barely heard it. "I just moved here from the Mumbai Institute but my parents were from Pakistan."

So she had been correct.

"Indigo." she replied. "You have an English accent?"

"Yes, I get that a lot," he said with a laugh. "The teachers of my institute were brought up in London."

So that was that. Indigo didn't ask about where his parents were now. Shadowhunters rarely did upon meeting. Usually, there was a reason they weren't mentioned upon first encounter and she had noted that he referred to his parents in the past tense, although she didn't comment.

Instantly, Indigo felt a sense of companionship with this new boy that she hadn't felt since coming to London. It was surprising, therefore, when instead of feeling wary, as she usually did when people attempted to connect with her, she felt at ease although neither had exchanged more than their names.

Perhaps we could be friends, she thought and was instantly amused with the thought that the reason he would comply to this suggestion was because he had none because he was new, yet her reasons were due to the fact that she just had none at all.

Levi promptly made a decision to continue this conversation and arranged himself in a stretching position on the floor in front of her.

Indigo heard a giggle to her left and turned her head slowly to lock eyes with a pretty English girl who had been apparently talking about the handsome newcomer with her gaggle of friends, who now trailed behind her, too shy to make eye contact with either Levi, who was looking somewhat amused, and Indigo, who everyone knew was the best student at the Institute.

"I'm Marissa," she said sweetly to Levi who smiled back and leaned forward to shake hands with her.

"Hi Indigo," she said amiably to the girl at her feet. Indigo inclined her head in Marissa's direction. She liked this girl well enough. Marissa was an exceptional student as well and Indigo was well aware of both her high exam marks and her adeptness on the field. There was many a time where Indigo had considered making an attempt to become closer to her in hopes of making a friend. Perhaps they would have been parabatai, the two most promising students in the school, had Indigo followed through when they had first met two years ago. It didn't seem likely now.

Clearly, the delicate blonde had captured Levi's attention, who made the effort to introduce himself and although pleasant small talk continued between the two for about three minutes, Levi continued to face his body towards Indigo, a gesture that she appreciated.

She hadn't been forgotten.

Marissa flounced away with her giggly friends, flushed, and clearly pleased with herself.

Levi turned to Indigo with a raised eyebrow and she chuckled, happy to feel this growing sense of companionship with a boy who shared her sense of humour.

"She is very pretty," he remarked easily without blushing.

"Yes, I suppose you don't get very many blondes in Mumbai." she countered.

He laughed then, a rich and deep laugh which resonated within his chest and Indigo saw the familiar scrawl of runes along his collarbone as he threw back his head in laughter.

"You're correct, although I speak objectively because there seem to be many such blondes in this room. They are all quite pretty."

Indigo was happy at this, although she couldn't say why. He had an old fashioned mannerism about him. None of the brash, rude attitude that so many of the young male shadowhunters here thought would attract girls of interest. They were usually right, whatever Indigo's misgivings, but she just found them obnoxious and steered clear of the sexy, emotionally tortured types.

Then Levi said something she had come to expect from those she first met.

"You are not English. But American." he said, not as a question while twisting his torso to stretch his sides.

She made a noise of confirmation and replied, "My father is from New York, but my Korean mother was a mundie."

"Ah," he said, interested. "That explains your appearance."

He gestured towards his own face. "Your eyes," he commented, looking straight into them. "They are interesting."

She held his gaze, flattered by the clear compliment but determined not to show it.

"Thank you."

The two continued to stretch together in a comfortable silence as the room began to fill and the volume of conversing shadowhunters grew and echoed against the high ceiling.

When Marcus Branwell stalked into the room and stood swiftly at attention, the noise level instantly died and sitting shadowhunters scrambled to their feet in order to face their teacher.

"Good morning," he called out and received a similar reply in unison, "tomorrow, we will start reviewing advanced archery in the park, but for now, please find partners. I have a very important matter to attend to concerning the Mumbai Institute this afternoon and I trust you all to be on your best behaviour as I will not be here to supervise today's lesson. Hand to hand combat only. Weapons will not be used today"

Indigo felt the room deflate a bit. Master Branwell was a genius with weaponry and could utilize anything in the armory with deadly skill and accuracy. To watch him demonstrate was highly exciting to see and Indigo shared in the disappointment with the rest of the room.

However, her fellow warriors had begun to find partners and Indigo saw the usual sight of everybody studiously ignoring her presence in the corner of the room.

She sighed inwardly then felt a gentle hand on her elbow. She turned to face Levi with a mix of relief and apprehension. She quickly took in his slight build, the easiness in which he stood with his feet planted firmly apart. She could not tell how good he was, yet she was curious to find out. Perhaps she had finally found a challenge? But she doubted it.

"I see you have not a partner," Levi said, a smile curving the right of his face. "I've heard you're very good. Is that why even the men seem to be afraid of you?"

The said boys nearest to them rolled their eyes but made no comment.

"I'm the best." she said without malice.

Levi bit his lip to hide his smile. "Be mine?" he teased.

She led him to the center of the room as the room began to empty. Many students utilized the nearby parks on days such as these and today was no different. Rare sunlight breached the windows of the training room, and the young shadowhunters were eager to make the most of it.

She shrugged off her sweater and threw it back to the corner they had left and gathered her long, wavy hair into a high ponytail and rolled back her shoulders.

Her dark blue eyes met his black ones and immediately she felt a burst of lightning that blazed its way down her spine and through her arms to her fingertips.

Indigo's arms fell loose at her sides and her eyes became wide.

"Oh." she said.

Levi arched his eyebrows and said nothing although Indigo swore she saw a flicker of her own surprise mirrored in his own eyes.

"You get first move." he said quietly, and this comment snapped Indigo to attention.

She naturally fell into the basic fighting stance, on the balls of her feet her arms raise to protect her upper body. Levi mirrored her own position.

But then she changed altitude. In a flash she was on all fours as she kicked out with a swivelling moment, knocking Levi's legs from out under him and completed the low spin, straightening up easily and looking down at her opponent on the ground.

Levi lay eagle-spread on his back, a mix of surprise and glee to find himself on the floor written across his face. Indigo found herself laughing.

"No fair." He said looking up at her, still on the ground.

"Anything goes." she stated simply. "Who said fighting demons would be fair?"

"My lady, are you making a complaint against our heavenly mandate?" he teased "Or simply stating that any demon is capable of spinning like a top and knocking me off my feet."

"The latter," she replied curtly. "Do get up, I want to get a good workout today."

In a flash, Levi executed a clean kip up and landed on his feet. The muscles under his tight shirt were flat and Indigo caught a glimpse of several runes encircling his waist before she realized that the amusement in his eyes were gone, replaced with a concentration she had not yet seen in his manner. For a moment, she was apprehensive, but this was soon replaced with a surge of adrenaline in the knowledge that she was about to fight and again raised her arms in front of her chest.

"Your move." she said.

Levi surged forward, his movements tight and calculated and aimed a flexed hand around her raised arms towards her midsection. In a flash, Indigo had sidestepped to her right and encircled her own arms around his exposed wrist, trapping him momentarily before she flipped him over with a swift movement.

Clearly, she had misjudged him. He was not built out of pure muscle and bone like so many of these English shadowhunters. His bones were light, like hers, and his frame was slight.

He simply completed the flip she had intended to land him on his back and was on his feet once more, delight dancing in his eyes like a flame as if he had found nothing more than an adept dance partner.

They went on like this for a good minute and a half, Indigo on the offensive and Levi blocking her movements with a graceful ease. She felt those around her stop their practice and turn to watch the couple ducking and sliding across the floor, admittedly, like dance partners.

Instead of feeling challenged, like she had hoped, she felt frustrated. It was almost embarrassing how difficult it was to catch this boy off guard. He was like smoke slipping in and out of her grasp, her limbs making brief contact before he used the momentum she gave him as an initiative for his next move.

He wasn't even defending himself, she realized. Simply moving where her hands directed him. She would never defeat him this way.

She ceased her movements suddenly and stood with her arms at her sides, completely exposing herself.

He lunged then, as she expected, and she leapt out of his way, and arched her arm, landing the back of her flat hand to his back. Instead of toppling over, as she expected, the boy lightly jumped into a somersault, riding off the ache of the blow, and leapt to his feet several meters in front of her.

"Come on," she growled. Levi was not the only person who heard her. Frustration was evident on her face, and many threw an appreciative glance towards the newcomer's way, pleased to have found a challenge for their star pupil. The room was fuller than before, Indigo noted. Those who had gone outside to practice had wandered back into collect their things but had simply stopped their task to watch her spar. This was not unusual, but she had a growing sense of unease that perhaps this time, they were not watching her, but someone else.

He nodded sharply to her, implying that she should be the one to make the next move. With a huff, she took two steps before somersaulting towards him, kicking out as she had before, in an attempt to knock his feet out under him. But it didn't work this time.

He had anticipated the movement, back flipping as if he were playing a children's game of warrior jump rope.

Levi was on his feet, confused to find that the girl he had been sparring had vanished from before him.

Several people laughed quietly and he glanced over at them curiously before realizing, too late, that Indigo had scampered onto a beam thirty feet above his head and was dropping like a fallen angel, feet pointed and arms outstretched.

Completely taken by surprise, he failed to react, his mouth slightly agape. Like some sort of show monkey, she swung onto a lower beam and used its position to change direction, coming at a diagonal right towards Levi where her delicate feet came into contact with his chest.

She felt the air escape his lungs as he fell, almost comically, back onto the exact same spot she had tripped him nearly 5 minutes before.

A shocked second later, Levi was laughing. A mirthless chuckle, he laughed and laughed and some even joined in with his apparent glee.

A broad shouldered 16 year old to Indigo's left let out a low whistle.

"Almost thought you lost it for a second there, Blackrose." he nodded to Indigo. "But I do believe you've met your match."

There was a smattering of teasing applause and then the room began to go about its business again, impressed, but not nearly enough to induce conversation.

Indigo reached over and helped Levi back onto his feet.

"Very impressive," he said genuinely, "I don't believe that I've ever -" He cut off abruptly at the look on her face. "Indigo? What's wrong?"

But she had stalked away without a word towards her fallen sweater in the corner, snatching it off the floor and exiting the door across the room.

Levi stood alone, confused and a bit embarrassed. He looked to the same boy who had spoken to Indigo only moments before, who was now looking at Levi with a level or respect that hadn't been there before.

"Don't worry about it," the boy said, sauntering over to Levi and clapping him on the shoulder. Levi winced. The gesture would probably result in a bruise. "Indigo's never met anyone who's as talented as she is. In London, anyway. You should feel pleased."

"She got the better of me though. You all saw it."

The boy looked thoughtful.

"Yes, but it's never taken that long to end. She can finish off any one of us in this room in 40 seconds tops. You dragged it out to nearly ten minutes. I'm Mordecai by the way. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Levi nodded and smiled.

"Levi Chaudhury."

"Say, isn't that the name of the head of the institute in Mumbai?"

"Nasreen Chaudhury is my adoptive mother."

"What are you doing in London, then?" he asked, not rudely.

Levi looked towards the towering door that Indigo had just exited.

"Change of scenery, I suppose." he answered.


	3. Caught In the Act

Indigo broke into a run at the end of the hallway containing the training room and headed for the residential wings, rudely refusing to answer the greetings of her teachers she met on the way.

Fuming, she went up several flights of stairs and straight to her bedroom door, half kicking it open when the lock stuck, and slammed the door behind her.

Frustrated, with absolutely no clue why, Indigo clenched her fists and let out a growl. She violently ripped the elastic off her head, her thick auburn hair flowing around her shoulders to her waist.

She clenched her hair into fists and wound it around her eyes, forming a sort of curtain around her face.

Why was she so angry? Levi had done nothing wrong. Poor him, his only fault was being an excellent fighter, and she had left him standing there, friendless.

Friendless.

That was what she was. She had screwed up any chance she had of being his friend over a moment of savage pride. What was wrong with her?

She resolved to apologize for her childish behavior in the morning and with that settled, she opened her bedroom window and looked moodily outside.

She was several stories up, but uneager to meet anyone outside who might have witnessed her episode in the training room, she decided to escape the institute another way.

There was no trellis that could serve as a ladder on the side of the great church. Neither were there stepping stones of any sort on the exterior.

Touching the equilibrium rune behind her ear which gave her perfect balance, Indigo reached for her stele in her pocket and carefully drew an agility mark on her forearm hoping that it'd be enough for what she was about to do.

Her fingers found a pair of leather gloves in her back pocket and she promptly wrestled them out. Fingerless, as they were, she had nothing else. But for this task, she drew a strengthening rune over the tough hide hoping it'd work.

Stepping onto the windowsill, she lightly stepped off it and twisted her body at the last moment so she clung by her fingers on the sill.

Her head felt light, and she was giddy with the slight guilt that came with the knowledge that she was deliberately cutting class. She had done it before, everyone did once in a while. The teachers didn't mind, really, as long as it wasn't noticeably frequent and disrupted the rate at which they were expected to learn. She was seventeen. Her formal training was nearly over, anyways. And she was the best.

What could they do?

She let her fingers release the edge of her window and she slid hand over hand down the side, nothing to slow her fall except the slight friction of the stone wall against her hands and the balls of her feet.

Feeling the callused edges of her fingertips rip open, Indigo winced. After several seconds, she landed lightly on her feet, still facing the Institute and let out a breath of relief.

Then she felt a large hand on her shoulder and groaned.

"What exactly do you think you're doing, young lady."

The voice of Marcus Branwell sounded low and dangerous. She turned around slowly to see her teacher staring furiously at her. His eyes flickered down to her mutilated fingertips and his eyes widened with anger.

"I see you're determined to kill yourself." he said in the same voice. "In the process, losing several fingers as well."

He leaned down to grab her hand, and took a stele out of his own coat pocket, outlining an iratze on her left wrist.

Lips tightening with the sting, Indigo said nothing.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Indigo? Never in the 25 years of my life have I seen any shadowhunter attempt what you have just done. There is a front door, you realize, as I see that you are so bent on skipping my lesson this afternoon."

The guilt in her stomach twisted unpleasantly but she continued to be silent.

"Indigo Blackrose," Marcus enunciated his words very slowly and his grip on her wrist grew tighter. "What do you have to say?"

"Am I allowed to plead the fifth?" she muttered under her breath.

But Marcus had heard her. His grip on her wrist loosened and his voice became gentle although somewhat sarcastic.

"You are no longer in New York, Indigo. I'm afraid the Constitution doesn't apply here." He heard his student give a soft "huh" of indignation.

"Would you like to join me in my office and we can talk this over civilly? Over a cup of hot tea perhaps?" he asked.

She raised her eyes. "Are we not being civil now?"

"No," he replied evenly. "As I recall, you just performed a feat I had previously believed only ably executed as a monkey. Clearly I stand corrected."

He turned his back on her and began to lead her inside the institute but not before Indigo caught a ghost of a smile on his lips.

Rubbing her raw fingers against the fabric of her sweater, she followed him under the arching entrance.


	4. Hide and Seek

"Indigo? Earth to Indigo."

Somewhere above her head, Indigo could vaguely make out the outline of a dark hand fanning her face.

She was on the floor. Why was she on the floor?

"Indigo. Open your eyes please." The voice transitioned from worried to exasperated. "Bloody hell, I did not hit you _that _hard."

Indigo groaned more out of humiliation than out of pain. Never in the two years she had been here, had she been forced to see the ceiling of the training room. It was so _high._

She blinked rapidly, willing the haze that formed a veil over her eyes to dissipate.

Realizing there was a crowd around her, she gathered herself up onto her elbows, still slumped on the floor.

She blinked. Levi, in all his dark and beautiful glory, sat in front of her with an arm resting across a propped knee, looking at her thoughtfully.

"Hello." he said without ceremony.

She looked over his shoulder at the gathered group. No less than twenty of her classmates had formed a fussing cloud around her figure, and while she felt gratified, she was bothered to see that nearly all the girls looked downright gleeful. In fact, so did all the boys.

It was Marissa, who stood to her left that spoke first.

"Indigo?" she asked tentatively. "How do you feel?"

The girl on the floor blinked, then, to everyone's surprise, snorted. She gestured to herself with a hand.

"I am unfamiliar with this position." she stated clearly.

A moment of shocked silence later, Indigo heard Mordecai roar with laughter.

Levi, visibly relieved, slumped onto the floor and lay eagle spread in front of her, blowing out air through his lips.

Tittering, the group of gathered shadowhunters dispersed and went back to their normal routine, easily forgetting the tiny girl who still lay on the floor.

Suddenly, she felt large hands grasp her upper arms and haul her to her feet.

"_Mordecai._" she said reproachfully, rubbing her arms where he had gripped her.

"I'm sorry, Blackrose," he said with a grin, "I couldn't bear seeing you on that floor any longer. It isn't natural."

She felt a sudden surge of affection towards him and smiled. He shrugged amiably and joined his partner several meters away.

She turned to her own partner who still lay on the ground. Levi had rearranged his body so that he lay comfortably on the floor, his arms resting clasped on his stomach and a knee bent in a natural position. His eyes were closed, though Indigo could see rapid movement beneath the lids.

"Alright," she said breathily to the figure at her feet, "come on now."

He opened one eye and squinted up at her. "Not cross with me then? No exiting the training grounds in a huff?"

She planted both hands on her hips and kicked his leg, lightly.

"No," she said quietly. "I want you to teach me what you just did."

Despite Indigo's outward civility towards him, Indigo knew somewhere inside, she had her misgivings. It was simply not in her nature to let on defeat. And she had learned early on that to throw tantrums would not change a thing. It would only make her an object of ridicule.

And Indigo would not let that happen.

Today had marked the fifth day since she had stormed out of the training room and had been caught by Marcus Branwell sliding down the side of the institute like a black raindrop.

Since the incident, Levi had insisted on being her sparring partner each time they were given the opportunity. And each time, Levi had succeeded in finding a chink in her armor, and landing her flat on her back.

Indigo was not used to this. She was not used to losing. It just didn't fit with her self-image.

In fact, her defeat went beyond the grounds of the training room.

Although it had been made less obvious, Indigo had realized sooner rather than later that Levi was extremely capable in the traditional setting of a classroom as well. Perhaps they paid more attention to students in Mumbai; Indigo knew there were much fewer students at the Institute in India. Either way, Levi seemed to be ahead of everyone else and indicated high proficiency in English literature, shadowhunter history, and surprisingly, physics, answering every question directed towards him with succinctness.

This irritated Indigo more than anything else, for she knew, and so did everyone else, that he was no better a student than Indigo. It was simply a matter of the fact that her teachers were curious to know how much exactly this eager and clearly intelligent new student had retained from his studies in Mumbai.

It soon became apparent that he had retained quite an amount indeed.

And so it became that until the novelty of his arrival had worn off, the teachers had found their new star pupil. And this had frustrated Indigo a good deal.

Being the best; it was all her parents had ever asked of her. It was all she had ever wanted for herself.

Indigo's favorite place in the Institute was the library. She had made a home of it immediately upon her arrival. Similar to the libraries in both the New York and Los Angeles Institute, she had felt a natural inclination towards this vast and homey room of books and was rarely disturbed there for students seldom found a use for it, their greater interests and hobbies lying beyond the walls of the institute.

And yet, despite being the most promising shadowhunter the London institute had seen in generations, Indigo felt more at ease in this room more populated with stories and knowledge than in an alley full of blood and demons.

Fighting gave her a sense of power and purpose. It made her blood run hot and her heart beat like a storm.

But this? She settled herself into her favorite corner between two overflowing shelves.

This was happiness.

Besides, she mused somewhat mournfully, she may not be the most promising shadowhunter after all. And while she refused to admit defeat, she knew well enough that there was no use in beating herself up over it.

Why suffer when you could simply lose yourself in a good book, she decided, and reached over and under her chair, to grasp a book she had hidden there for this sole purpose.

As her fingers found the familiar worn spine, and she pulled herself back up, Indigo suddenly had the sense she wasn't alone.

Hoping it was a teacher who would find their needed materials and leave quickly, she glanced around a shelf to find the library empty. Well as far as she could see, anyways, but gave a small yelp of surprise when she saw a pair of dark and laughing eyes peering at her between two rows of books to her left.

Feeling somewhat violated, she hissed softly towards the intruder's directions and felt even more unsettled when it was Levi who stepped around the wood and walked gracefully towards where she sat.

Of course. Who else could it be. The one and only person in the world who had given her any sort of distress in the past two years and he had found her hiding spot.

"Chaudhury," she whispered warily, deliberately addressing him by his family name, "please, I beg of you, leave me alone to rot in my despair. You have ruined me."

Instead of laughing off her sarcasm as she had expected him to, he looked genuinely taken aback.

"Indigo," he began. And broke off, biting his lip. She found her eyes darting to his lips and instantly regretted it. But he had not noticed. "You can not possibly think that-"

He stopped and suddenly looked confused.

"Actually," he tried again, "I have absolutely no idea what you're thinking. Do I have something, unbeknownst to me, that I should apologize for?"

Suddenly, Indigo felt horrible. Her distress was clearly written on her face yet he took it as offense and began to back away.

"I'm sorry," he said, and wouldn't meet her eyes. "I don't know what I've done but if I have offended you in any way, I apologize. You were the first person I met here and you were kind to me and I feel awful if I've done something to ruin that. I can tell you know."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I irritate you. I can see it when you look at me sometimes. I don't know what I did. But I'm sorry alright?"

It was like a dam had broken through in a particularly strong current. Indigo had the sense that Levi was rambling without meaning to and this realization softened her heart.

"Hey." she said softly. His eyes flicked to hers and for a moment, her heart fluttered weakly in her chest. His large brown eyes were framed with thick lashes and this only enunciated the boyish, trustingness with which he gazed at her now.

She could not hurt this boy. Not with words, or actions; clearly not with her actions.

She scooted forward on her arm chair and slid off it onto the floor, wrapping her legs in her arms and settling her chin on top of her knees. Indigo stared at Levi's scuffed boots, willing them to move towards her.

They did.

He settled himself across from her in a similar position. They now sat eye to eye, facing eachother. This was the most intimate Indigo had ever been with another person. For some reason, the same reason, she supposed, that she had instantly felt a kinship with Levi the first time they met, the silence was comfortable.

They sat, brooding in their own thoughts, leaving the other inside their own minds.

Indigo looked thoughtfully at the way Levi's dark curled at his temples, how his eyes lay half-closed when he was in a place she could not reach, his long lashes tickling the highest point of his cheekbones.

He had a handsome nose, she observed, and a perfect cupid's bow marking his upper lip which was flushed and slightly parted from his lower. Her eyes trailed up his sharp jawline to a gold glint near his ears, almost entirely hidden by his dark hair.

She boldly reached out and gently pushed away his curls revealing a tiny golden hoop. He did not flinch away from her touch but closed his eyes and exhaled softly, seemingly comfortable with the familiarity in which she reached over and revealed a second hoop, identical to the first on his other lobe.

"They're pretty." she remarked.

Eyes still shut, he mumbled a thanks, his forehead drooping towards his clasped arms.

Sunlight poured in heavy rays through the high windows of the library, bathing the two in warmth. Indigo felt drowsy as well but light and pleasant and she drew in her arm and settled back onto the legs of her chair. In that moment, she knew.

She knew she had found a friend, and he was sitting in front of her.

It was so easy, she mused wonderingly, how naturally they had taken to each other. Admittedly, there were several times in which she would have liked nothing better than to send him sprawling on the floor (indeed she had, several times) and then there were those episodes in the classroom where he had bested her- this was where she stopped her wandering thoughts.

She felt her heart thicken with resentment. They would be friends, she thought to herself cautiously, but it was in her best interest to keep herself at the top a priority. There was nothing more important than being the best. Because her best meant better than anyone else. And that was really all she had left.

This decided, she let herself relax. She knew sooner, rather than later, she would catch up to him. She would learn all his tricks. Practicing against him had already made her a better fighter in the past week alone. Even Marcus had commented on this, seemingly pleased with the fact that Indigo had finally found someone to push her to her limits, challenging her to be better than she already was.

This could work out, she decided firmly. She would not push him away. The feeling of companionship, so long forgotten, had already become dear and precious to her in a world full of loss and uncertainty. She just would have to find a way to keep herself at the top.

The top the top the top. It was all she ever thought about.

Indigo flinched when she heard a soft noise. It was Levi muttering unintelligibly into the crook of his arm.

"Hmm?" she murmured in response.

He opened his eyes, and they were made golden in the light.

"Indigo." he said. "Were you named for your eyes?"

She blinked in surprise. "Why yes, I suppose. I've never thought about it before."

Her mouth quirked to the side in thoughtfulness.

"Indigo for your eyes," he commented and took a breath, "and Indie for your independence."

"God bless America," she said under her breath.

He laughed then and scooted forward, his knees on either side of her, and gathered her willowy body into his arms. She did not object. Indeed, she was too surprised to.

The sudden gesture of affection had not been expected, but it was welcome, and in its own way, natural. Indigo had not been an object of affection since her parents had died, and as a child who had been used to every sort of loving gesture, Indigo had not realized, until now, how much she had craved physical contact from a person who cared.

She allowed herself to lean into him and rested her cheek against his collar, breathing in his musky scent. Soap and smoke and sugar.

"Well, Miss Independence," he whispered against her hair, "I suppose you have me now. What do you make of that?"

"How sad for me," she replied softly, eyes still closed, "Indie had a rather nice ring to it."


	5. Night Is Meant for Sleeping

"No, no, no." Levi's hand slammed against his desk.

It was two o' clock in the morning and Indigo and Levi were studying feverishly inside his room. They had failed to prepare for the morning's exam on shadowhunter history during Victorian England when Indigo had insisted on practicing in the training room until she had finally caught Levi off guard and landed him on his back to loud round of applause by onlookers, much to Indigo's pleasure and chagrin.

Now Levi ran a long-fingered hand through his thick curls, and rubbed his eyes.

"Remember, it was the Branwells, not the Herondales that ran the institute in the 1890's. The Herondales came afterâ€¦" he trailed off and glanced at the clock on his wall.

He made a noise of despair and leaned heavily on his desk, exhaustion etched onto every line of his face. Indigo felt bad for making him stay up with her but she knew his knowledge of this particular era was better than hers. She could not pass up this opportunity to glean as much information as she could. Her history books were of no use to her at this god-forsaken hour. The words blurred together and it was all she could do to keep from ripping out her hair in frustration.

"Right," she prompted before Levi decided to give up on her, "And it was Jessamine Lovelee-"

"Lovelace."

"Right, Lovelace. Jessamine Lovelace betrayed the Clave to the hands of Axel Mortmain."

"Yes, good. And she had been tricked into this by?"

"Her husband."

"Good. What was his name?"

"Shit."

"Indigo! _Language._"

"Sorry. Shoot. I don't know!"

"It was Axel. Axel Mortmain."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No! Ha! I've caught you now! It was Mortmain's mundane servant, Nathaniel Gray. Not Mortmain himself."

"Damn. You're correct."

Indigo flashed him a weak smile, too tired to gloat properly.

He continued, relentless. "And his sister wasâ€¦?"

"Tessa. Tessa Gray. Of course I know that. She's a legend."

Levi sighed. "Yes well, I had hoped you wouldn't remember and I would have beaten you by that much."

She stuck her tongue out. "You don't mean that."

"No," he admitted. "I don't."

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, a brotherly gesture of affection. "Sleep now, child." He commanded, and proceeded to shoo his limp companion out of his room. "You are as ready as you'll ever be."

She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Thanks, Levi for helping me study." Her voice came out childish but she couldn't help it. She was so damn tired.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Good night, Indie." he said softly. "I'll be ten feet away if you decide to forget the name of the demon that pretended to curse William Herondale. Just knock if you need me." He moved to close the door then stopped as she turned away. "It's Marbas by the way."

Indigo smiled before she heard the lock click on his door and stumbled like a drunk to her room directly across the hall.

The fact that their rooms were so close to each other was no coincidence. Indigo had, in fact, hinted to Marcus several days ago that there was a possibility of Levi becoming her parabatai. Her teacher was no less than absolutely thrilled at the prospect of matching his star pupils together and had happily consented without indicating anything to Levi himself.

Indigo was grateful for this. She had not yet discussed the idea with him yet, but seeing as her 18th was only months away, she felt an urgency to work quickly.

But there was still the matter of him agreeingâ€¦

She pushed the thought away. One thing at a time. An important exam awaited her in the morning and that was all she could afford to think about. If she could think at all.

Indigo rushed through her nighttime ritual, only bothering with a quick rub down with soap in the shower and a dab of moisturizer before throwing herself onto her bed.

Not bothering to even turn out her lamp, she let herself become lost in the cool, crisp sheets of her bed, feeling sleep cradle her like a baby willing her to let go of consciousness.

There was a soft knock on the door. Instantly, Indigo was alert. Training to become a shadowhunter did that to you.

Who could it possibly be? She squinted at her clock. It was nearly three in the morning now, she had dozed for a good thirty minutes at least.

Levi? No it couldn't be. He wouldn't dare wake her when he had looked so fatigued himself before sending her to bed.

So whatâ€¦

She crossed her room in three strides and cracked open her door.

Out of everyone in the worldâ€¦

"Marissa?"

The pretty shadowhunter stood nervously at her door. Clearly, she was attempting a smile, but seeing the look on Indigo's drawn face, she gave up.

"Hi Indigo," she looked hopefully into Indigo's bedroom. Seeing there was nothing to be done, Indigo stepped to the side and let the girl in.

"Soâ€¦" Indigo attempted a welcome but threw her hands into the air instead. "What gives, Marissa? We have an exam tomorrow."

The other girl took a seat on the edge of her bed and fixed a serious, and surprisingly wakeful gaze on Indigo's face.

"It's about Mordecai." she said finally.

Indigo groaned inwardly. Didn't this silly girl know that she was the worst person to come to for romantic advice? Indigo doubted she had a romantic bone in her body. She just wanted to sleepâ€¦ She threw a longing glance to her rumpled bed.

Seeing this, Marissa began to speak quickly, lest she lose her audience.

"Look, Indie," the girl began.

"It's Indigo," she corrected, more sharply than she intended.

Marissa looked taken aback but if she was offended, she didn't show it.

"I'm sorry, I just heard Leviâ€¦ Nevermind. What I came to say actually has to do with Levi."

"I thought you said it was about Mordecai."

"Yes wellâ€¦ Oh, dickens, Indigo would you let me speak?" she huffed.

Indigo folded herself onto the floor complacently.

Marissa coughed, clearly stalling for time.

"Mordecai has asked me to go with him to dinner tomorrow," she said hurriedly, her next sentences spilling out in a rush, "and I said yes, that I'd love to but then I thought about it and I don't know if I can go alone and I was wondering if you and Levi might join us for dinner? I mean because you two seem awfully close so I was supposing that perhaps we could do doubles if it isn't too much trouble and I just thought it might make it less awkward and you and Levi could get some time out of the institute since all you two seem to do is train and study together in this gloomy wretched place."

She took a breath and was about to continue when Indigo held up her hand.

"You're wrong," she said firmly. "Levi and I are not seeing each other that way."

This was not what Marissa had expected. She blinked her eyes.

"You aren't?"

"No."

"But I thought. Well you two just _seem_ soâ€¦"

"But we aren't Marissa. In fact I have half a mind to ask him to become my parabatai."

Instantly, Marissa's demeanor changed.

"Oh." she said, understanding.

"Yes," Indigo said, tiredly. "Now if you please, may I sleep? I don't even mind if you stay the night, really, as long as you promise not to talk about boys between now and three in the afternoon."

Marissa wrinkled her nose adorably but Indigo was beyond caring.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Indigo reassured her and turned to her bed. She did not check to see if Marissa had left, instead, reaching out to turn off her lamp and for the second time that morning, collapsed into her bed.

She was asleep before she heard Marissa pull the trundle bed out from beneath her, accepting Indigo's half-serious invitation to stay the night.

But then again, Indigo later mused, that was when they had established themselves as friends.


	6. Masked Demons

"So I suppose you already know what you're wearing then," Marissa said lightly when she and Indigo had found a spot for dinner in the dining hall.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, the Mingling Masquerade!" Marissa said, no longer concealing her excitement.

"Oh," said Indigo at last, wincing, "You mean the annual ball that encourages the social interactions between shadowhunters and downworlders? Levi told me it's tomorrow night. It gets a bit, _wild_, doesn't it?"

Marissa giggled with glee.

"Oh, _yes."_

"I'm not going."

"Oh, Indigo you have to! It's so much fun. It's _tradition."_

"Marissa," Indigo said, putting down her fork, "it's hardly tradition if it debuted five years ago. And second, I never go to these social functions anyways. It'd cause a riot if I suddenly showed up to one."

Marissa huffed, and began filling her dinner plate from the larger serving plates at the center of the table.

"I know," she said. "That's why I think you should go. You know, be interesting for once."

Indigo squinted at her. "We battle demons on a daily basis. While mundanes our age and older are worrying about love and money and sex, we protect their silly, oblivious lives without _any_ sort of gratitude at all." She stabbed the turkey breast on her plate with a particularly sharp fork. "You don't find that _interesting?_"

Marissa eyed the turkey warily before patting Indigo's other hand affectionately.

"You know what I mean, dear." she herself, began to placidly butter her bread roll. "In fact, I'm imploring you to rethink your decision."

Spotting one of her friends, Marissa waved her over and indicated her to Indigo, who was sitting to her right.

"Rosaline." Marissa said. "She's got magic fingers. She can literally do anything with any length of hair."

Rosaline preened and nodded eagerly to Indigo. The other girl smiled weakly back.

"Oh and _Nora,"_ she promptly pulled down another girl by the elbow who had been following Rosaline, nearly knocking over the contents of the poor girl's dish, "this is Nora. Yes. Hello. If you go shopping with her, you're guaranteed to find something amazing. She's got eyes as sharp as a whip."

Nora looked down amused, at her friend. "Gracious, Marissa," she said in a high voice, "if we hadn't been friends since childhood, I'd think you keep me around for reasons no more significant than _that._"

Indigo had to agree.

"Don't be a goose," Marissa said airily, and indicated that the two girls, who Indigo had noted were very pretty in their own right, should sit across from them.

Her friends obliged, and promptly began discussing the ball. Indigo felt very uncomfortable. She did not know how to do this chattery, frivolous bother that girls seemed to work up when in groups, but at the same time, was surprised to find that she was happy to be surrounded by people who seemed to be interested in her.

"Your hair," Rosaline said to Indigo, her head suddenly whipping in the other girl's direction. "What made you do that? I feel like it'd look ghastly on someone with a lesser face, but somehow you make it work."

Indigo self consciously brushed her fingers over the left part of her scalp, which she had decided to shave nearly six months ago. She had liked it so much that she had kept it, trimming her fast-growing hair twice a month, when necessary.

"This band I like," Indigo said. "Their lead singer's a girl. She did her hair like this. I liked it. And I thought, why not?"

"Mmm," Rosaline answered, eyeing Indigo's head thoughtfully, "It's edgy. Rosie likes. Is your hair really that shade of red?"

Marissa rolled her eyes towards her friend, but not without affection.

"Yes," Indigo said. "Is yours?"

Rosaline giggled and ran a hand through her platinum blonde bob.

"Yes! But your hair. It's uncanny. I mean, you're Asian aren't you?"

Indigo laughed, despite herself.

"My dad wasn't. I'm only half."

Rosaline's mouth formed an "o".

"Well _anyhow_," interrupted Nora, "as I believe Marissa was asking before we arrived, you haven't a dress yet, do you? I really hope you don't. Because I saw one in a shop the other day, and I realized that it's pretty imperative that you purchase it and wear it."

Nora raised an eyebrow at Indigo's unanswering silence.

"Sorry," she said. "Are you speaking to me?"

The three girls burst into laughter. In the past, perhaps, Indigo would have considered it condescending and would have been made surly by this, but now, eating and studying with Marissa's group of friends for several weeks, she realized they were simply amused with her clear lack of familiarity with female companionship.

This was just how girls talked. Indigo realized, if not a little annoyed. And this girl happened to go shopping for other people, if theoretically.

"Yes!" Nora said, brightly. "We can go tomorrow if you'd like."

Indigo sighed to herself. It became apparent that they had all taken her attendance to the masquerade for granted once Marissa had started talking about hair and dresses.

"If I were to go," she said slowly to Marissa, whose eyes had lit up immediately, "and that's only an _if_, I have to bring a friend don't I? A downworlder, I mean."

Marissa made a sound of affirmation.

"Well there you go," said Indigo triumphantly. "I don't have one."

"Who _cares_," said Rosaline with an impatient wave of her hand. "Bring your good-looking shadowhunter instead, and give up your spot for your plus one. And by that I mean give it to me."

She looked innocently at Marissa who shot her a glare.

"What?" Rosaline said, affronted. "It's _allowed_."

"And why, exactly, do you require _two_ plus one's?" asked Nora, somewhat scathingly. "There's a reason it's called 'plus one'. You're supposed to have _only one. _If you have more, then it's a party."

Rosaline clapped her hands as an answer. She turned her head and directed a pleading look to Indigo.

"Please," Rosaline wheedled. "I met two very handsome faerie knights the other day and-"

Indigo recognized her defeat.

"Alright!" she cried, before Rosaline could go into any more detail. "You're welcome to take my plus one, Rosaline." She turned to look at Marissa who looked very self satisfied. "But I won't ask Levi to come. He can come of his own will."

Marissa stuck her tongue out and Indigo flicked a piece of pasta at her with her fork before the four resumed eating their dinner amidst a happy flow of chatter.

As promised, Nora did take her shopping the next day after the day's lessons ended.

And as promised, the dress was just what Indigo wanted.

Shadowhunters look better in black. That was the motto among the young nephilim and Indigo had always been more than happy to conform. Marissa was rather fond of pink, and Rosaline occasionally sported a yellow scarf but otherwise, it was as the old rhyme went:

"_Black for hunting through the night_

_For death and sorrow, the color's white_

_Gold for a bride in her wedding gown,_

_And red to call enchantment down."_

The dress Indigo had purchased was indeed black and was now bumping against her hip in a wide shopping bag. Nora, who was walking next to her, kept up a steady stream of conversation, however one-sided.

"You are so lucky you had me with the masquerade scheduled for tonight and all," Nora commented amiably, her breath coming out of her lips in a puff against the chilly October air.

Indigo nudged her companion's arm and Nora laughed.

"I hadn't actually planned to go until you three forced me into it just last night," Indigo responded as they turned the corner to the Institute.

As they entered the iron gates of the looming cathedral, Nora suddenly pulled the other girl's arm away from the main entrance, towards the sanctuary located off the hallowed grounds of the institute.

"What-"

Nora hushed her and whispered, "Let's see if the decorations are up."

Indigo rolled her eyes but complied, letting the other girl lead her towards the entrance of the sanctuary which lay slightly ajar.

Putting her eye to the crack in the door, Indigo and Nora could see a group of ten or so young shadowhunters rushing about in the darkly lit space, arranging covered plates of food and hanging faerie lights that dangled on what looked to be interwoven vines from the high ceiling.

In fact, Indigo realized with a bit of a start, not all of bodies milling about in preparation were shadowhunters. Quite a few were faeries, their peculiar eyes catching the lights above, and Indigo caught a heady whiff of the sickly sweet odor that seemed to hover around the night's children as a pretty vampire dolled up in a red taffeta dress walked by the entrance where Nora and Indigo were in danger of being caught.

"You would think that shadowhunters would have better things to do," Indigo muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, she felt a strong, but tiny hand yank her away from the entrance. Indigo tensed but it was only Nora, although the look on her face clearly indicated she was upset.

"Why do you do that?" Nora asked, clearly irritated.

Indigo was puzzled.

"Do what?"

"Make it out like shadowhunters are better than everyone else. Or that they have more worthy things to do than advocate friendly cooperation among the different worlds."

Indigo was shocked speechless.

"You know," Nora went on, crossing her arms, "the world's not what it used to be. We get along fairly well with downworlders, contrary to popular belief." Here her eyes flashed. "Oh wait, contrary to _your_ belief, Indigo."

Indigo held up her hands as if to fend off any more verbal attacks.

"Nora, you don't need to-"

"My boyfriend's a downworlder," Nora snapped, cutting her off. "A werewolf. His name's Dean. So don't you go off on any superiority tangent while you see him tonight."

Something inside of Indigo snapped.

"Nora," she said sharply, "I never meant any offense and I apologize. You know me. My life is comprised of three things. Books. Fighting. And Fighting. I have never attended any of these 'minglings' as you call it and while I understand it's no excuse, forgive me for thinking that time is better spent elsewhere, for example against the demons you _and_ your boyfriend devote their life to seeing that they do not shatter the world as we know it."

Nora looked mollified but shrugged and began to walk towards the Institute entrance.

"Don't be such a drama queen, Indigo," she called over her shoulder. "Come on, let's go up to my room and I'll find you some shoes for that dress."

A sharp rap at the door hushed the frenzied chatter of the three girls in Rosaline's room. A fourth girl sat mutely in front of the vanity, lips pressed into a thin line, as the over excited blonde curled her hair into delicate waves that fell around her shoulders in a scarlet cloud.

"Who-?" wondered Marissa aloud as she stomped towards the source of the knock.

"Excuse me," she began, opening the door, "there are four beautiful girls getting ready in here, you are not permitted to-" her voice caught off when she saw who it was. After a moment, she shrieked and slammed the door on the intruder's face. "_Levi_." she hissed through clenched teeth.

Indigo shot up from her seat in horrified indignation, Rosaline uttered a cry of protest with her hot iron still in her hand.

"Marissa," she spluttered, "what on earth is wrong with you?"

Marissa didn't move from the door instead eyeing Indigo's advances with wide eyes, her body splayed over the door as if she could prevent her friend from exiting.

"Out of my way, I insist!"

Marissa obliged by opening the door an inch. Indigo, utterly at a loss, looked up to see a pair of familiar eyes gazing down at her in amusement.

"I'd say you look nice but I suspect Marissa won't allow me to say it quite yet."

The girl mentioned looked gleeful on the other side of the door.

Indigo sighed and looked up at his face, wishing more than anything, that she could have his quiet company in place of Marissa's rather hectic one.

"I'll see you tonight," she said in what she hoped was a bright voice. But Levi knew better. He chuckled.

"Alright. I'll be with Mordecai. See you in a couple."

She mouthed "help me" before Levi threw her a wink and Marissa closed the door once again in his face.

The dress Nora had picked out for her was as modest as a little black dress was ever going to get. Attached to a sweetheart bodice was another layer made out of mesh rising to cover most of the chest and extending to form two tightly fitting long-sleeves.

The bodice of the dress was formed out of an elastic type of material as well, giving out at the tiniest part of her waist to a chiffon skirt that reached mid-thigh.

Every inch of her torso was adorned with tiny gold beads scattered seemingly randomly across the fabric, winking like little stars under the light.

Indigo was used to tight-fitting clothes. It was nearly impossible to fight with precision should gear be loose or hanging. But she was uncomfortable still due to the fact that it was the girliest thing she had ever worn. In fact, Indigo couldn't remember the last time she wasn't wearing black denims and a t-shirt.

Heels weren't so much of a problem since Indigo was used to walking around in such boots ever since Isabelle Lightwood had made stilettos a shadowhunter staple as well as a fashion statement.

But still, she thought, as she shyly examined herself in Rosaline's full length mirror, she hardly recognized herself.

Marissa had been liberal with the makeup, something Indigo hardly bothered with normally, but now her eyes were what Rosaline had called alluring and seductive, deep blue eyes surrounded by thickly painted lashes. Indigo had frowned at this comment, but Marissa, ready for an utterance of protest, countered Nora's statement with "sophisticated and enigmatic".

Indigo had decided to let the matter go with a sigh and sat obediently on Rosaline's bed fiddling with her delicate mask while the three other girls got ready.

Nora, like Indigo, seemed to prefer a more conservative cut on her dress and donned a gorgeous velvet gown with a ruched turtle-neck and sheer back with heels to match.

Rosaline and Marissa, on the other hand, had no doubt in their minds that tonight's ball was akin to a mundane night club.

Both wore shoulder-baring mini dresses that hugged the curves of their thighs and made an exhibit of their muscled backs. Rosaline's bodice looked shockingly similar to a lace corset and Indigo couldn't help but stare as Marissa shimmied on a pair of stockings underneath a dress that more resembled a shirt than anything else.

Piling her long blonde hair into a high bun and pinning it securely on top of her head, Marissa turned with a wide smile under an elaborate beaded mask to her friends and led the way out of Rosaline's bedroom which now reminded Indigo of a battlefield.

The four girls entered the sanctuary and was immediately greeted with loud music and a gaggle of masked shadowhunters who pulled them into the growing crowd of werewolves, nephilim, vampires, and faeries.

Older shadowhunters, who wore looks of stern disapproval, eyed the energetic throng nervously. They weren't wearing masks. Several were stationed at the entrance and more lined the walls of the room, arms crossed, and eyes alert.

The four girls, made a striking group and many threw an appreciative glance through feathered masks their way before returning their attention to their companions.

Nora was the first to break off, finding her boyfriend in the crowd, and eagerly weaving through the press of bodies to meet him.

Rosaline was the second, literally swept off her feet by her two faerie knights who smiled coldly at Marissa and Indigo before leading their lady further into the room.

Shortly after, Marissa and Indigo were met by Levi and Mordecai, the latter grabbing Marissa's hand and leading her to the dance floor where couples were already bumping and swaying to the upbeat music.

Instead of joining them, Levi reached for Indigo's hand and the two of them walked towards the table lined with food.

"This is what I came here for," Indigo said, laughing, and began filling a plastic cup with chocolate covered pretzels.

Levi smiled affectionately at her and popped several candies into his mouth. He turned to her then and rested and gently touched her arm, making a movement to shrug off his mask which had been painted, Indigo suspected, by his own hand. Indigo looked at him inquisitively and was about to ask what was on his mind when suddenly, the music cut.

Immediately, Indigo heard an uproar near the entrance of the sanctuary, the complete other side of where she and Levi were standing now. A sudden and powerful wave of panicked bodies sent Indigo crashing into the wall, separating her from Levi and driving her into a dizzy confusion.

It was then that Indigo discovered she had claustrophobia. But an earsplitting scream snapped her out of her daze and she reached up to her face to tear off her mask.

Something unwelcome had found its way past the shadowhunter guard.

Demons.


End file.
